A stage adaptation of Tina Fey’s 2004 hit comedy film Mean Girls, which starred actress Lindsay Lohan as a high school transfer student trying to navigate teenage social cliques, will have its world premiere in fall 2017 in Washington, D.C.
The news was announced October 3—the day fans have dubbed Mean Girls day, in reference to a line in the film—on the official Mean Girls Facebook page and new verified Twitter account. The Facebook post was taken down minutes after the announcement, but the tweet remains.
A representative on behalf of the creators confirmed the news to Playbill.com, stating that “they are all really excited and will have a formal announcement with additional information very soon.”
The Tweet follows:
BREAKING OCT 3rd NEWS! The “Mean Girls” musical is coming to Washington, D.C. Fall of 2017! #MeanGirls #OctoberThird #ThatsSoFetch #grool pic.twitter.com/oFfLmTFrAt
— Mean Girls (@MeanGirlsDC) October 3, 2016
As previously reported, Tony Award-nominated Legally Blonde lyricist Nell Benjamin is collaborating with Golden Globe winner Fey and Fey’s husband, composer Jeffrey Richmond. Fey told the Tribeca Film Festival crowd that the pregnancy of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Ellie Kemper has given her the chance to focus on the new musical.
Read 15 MUSICAL MOMENTS WE WANT IN THE MEAN GIRLS MUSICAL
“We’re working on the musical adaptation, and thanks to Ellie Kemper’s pregnancy, we have this whole summer to work on it,” she said. When asked whether the musical would be updated to include the impact of social media, Fey answered, “The thing about social media is… it doesn’t dramatize well.” Fey previously told Watch What Happens host Andy Cohen that she has no plans to star in the musical, which will have a “classic Broadway” sound. The actress/writer also joked that Broadway will see the musical in “in 2027… whenever Hamilton closes.”
In 2007, the actress and writer told MTV, “I thought the movie, in some ways, mostly appealed to young girls and gay men, and I feel like that could be a recipe for success on Broadway.”
Mean Girls was directed by Mark Waters and also starred Rachel McAdams, Lizzy Caplan, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried and Fey. The film centers on Cady Heron (Lohan), who returns to the U.S. from Africa and must adjust to high school life after previously being homeschooled. She soon must decide which social clique to be a part of and finds herself caught in the drama of “The Plastics.”
The D.C.-area Signature Theatre, currently developing the world premiere of Freaky Friday, has confirmed that it is not spearheading the project; and D.C.’s Arena Stage, which gave Dear Evan Hansen its world premiere, as well as the Ford's Theatre said that the project is not planned for their venues either.
Playbill.com has reached out to members of the creative team of the musical and are awaiting a response.
